Those who have given our club life
Bill McLean
Bill is son of one of the original members of thistle as a player Bill represented Southland and North-Otago . He coached Thistle club teams , Coached and Managed Southland representatives teams
He is a former Club Captain , President and Secretary-Treasurer. A life member of the Southland Football Assn and has also been the president and a forerunner to the southland Junior Football assn he was Southlands delegate to the NZFA .
Bill is also a patron of the Southlands Referees association.
Doug Ottley
1974:Doug represented Southland and New Zealand as a player while a member of the now defunct Brigadiers club. Later he played for Thistle but was mostly involved in coaching. He coached many Thistle club teams, and also Southland representative teams including senior, junior and women. He also coached the Invercargill City combination. Doug was a former club president and vice-president of the Southland Football Association.
Bill Ferguson
One of the original club members. Bill represented Southland as a player and also managed Southland teams. He was a former club secretary and also president and chairman of the Southland Football Association. A holder of the New Zealand badge as a referee he was a life member of the Southland Referees’ Association and was a former president of that association. Bill was also a former president of the New Zealand Referees’ Association.
Larry O'Rorke
A key figure in the establishment of Thistle. He represented Southland and Otago as a player, coached Thistle teams, and was a club captain. He coached and managed Southland representative teams. A life member of the Southland Football Association. Former president chairman, secretary and treasurer of the association, Larry was also a ‘former New Zealand Football Association council member. He won the 1960 Southland Amateur Sports Trust’s sports administrator of the year award. The S.F.A.’s all-weather park at Sandy Point was named in his honour.